Hiking to Rio Quemado Falls

At a music teachers' happy hour get-together last summer some of us started talking about hiking to Quemado Falls near Truchas, NM.  The only catch -- we needed a high clearance 4WD truck to get to the trail head.  At first I thought I'd drive the Silver Beauty, but after more discussion we decided to ask Stephen to be our driver.  Boy, are we glad we did, because I would NOT have been able to do it! 

Rebecca called the ranger for detailed directions.  The road to the trail head crosses the Nuestra Senora del Rosario San Fernando Y Santiago Land Grant, and the ranger strongly recommended getting permission from the president of the Land Grant, which Rebecca did.  We were glad of that when we had to stop for two men on horseback with rifles and sidearms.  The last 7 miles of road are unimproved.  The directions were tricky, and the road was horrible.  Stephen had to do most of it in first gear and 4WD.  Finally, I lost my nerve and asked if we could park and walk the last mile or so to the trail head, which we did.  As it turns out, Stephen could have gotten around the worst part of the road and driven us all the way to the trail head.  But we didn't discover that until we were out of the truck with our backpacks, ready to hike. 

Finding no outhouse, I went to find a private tree.  While I was there, some very curious cows came along.  They were FAR too interested in what I was doing for my comfort!  These pictures are the only ones we have of the road.  The photographer was driving, and I had my eyes closed. 

 After the cow adventure, we started hiking up the road.

 It was maybe a mile and a half to the trail head.

 It was an absolutely perfect day for hiking.  Sunny and in the 70's.  We couldn't have asked for a better day.
It was about noon by the time we reached the trail head.  Driving the unimproved section of road took much longer than we had anticipated.  Some men were on lunch break from working in the area, and they said we were starting awfully late to hike, but they probably thought we were going all the way to the peak.

 The ranger said they had been working on the trail, but there were many places where we had to climb over downed trees.  The trail follows the stream, and there were some boggy and muddy spots where we had to walk on the logs or hop across wet rocks.  Parts of the trail were steep and rocky.

 I didn't think Stephen would hike the whole way, especially considering that we started over a mile before the trail head, making the round trip at least 8 miles.  But he got caught up in the beauty of the day and the excitement of thinking the falls might be just around the next bend in the trail.  When we arrived at the falls, he definitely thought the effort was worthwhile!

 We started hiking at about 9,300 feet.  According to the GPS, the waterfall is at 10,550 feet.  I got excited when I thought we were almost there and started running up the last bit of mountain.  That's when my lungs told me were were over ten thousand feet!  Otherwise, I didn't notice the elevation.  I did notice that the types of wildflowers and trees I saw changed with the elevation.

 Julie took off her hiking boots to soak her feet in the water while we were at the falls.  The rest of us decided we didn't want to get our feet wet.

 Our intrepid driver and official blog photographer:

We left the falls at 2 PM.  Originally we thought we might hike all the way to a lake that Rebecca had heard about, but we decided it was getting too late.  It's a good thing we turned when we did, because when we started driving back, we somehow got onto a different unimproved, unmarked road that was worse than the first one.  Stephen's GPS told us we were headed for Truchas, so we continued on and eventually the road intersected with our original route.  But it was past 6 PM by the time we got to a paved road, and it was 8:30 PM when we finally got home.  It was a long day, but a fantastic adventure!

The Marinos' 2015 Albuquerque Visit

Mom and Dad M flew in on the Friday before Labor Day.  Their flight was a little delayed, but I had prepared dinner at the house so we were able to relax and eat and discuss the plans for the week.

On Saturday, Mom M and Stephen and I went to Casa San Ysidro, a 19th century rancho in Corrales, while Dad M rested up from the trip.  Casa San Ysidro is a branch of the Albuquerque Museum.  It is only accessible through guided tours because all the artifacts are out in the open, not behind glass.  Our docent, an energetic and youthful 80-year-old, had lots to tell us about the history of the house and of Corrales.

 There is no photography allowed inside the buildings, so we only have pictures of the outside and courtyard areas.

 On Sunday, I took Mom and Dad M to the petroglyphs while Stephen caught up on some work.  It was very hot and sunny, and I was so worried that Mom and Dad M would get dehydrated with the low humidity and unaccustomed elevation that I reminded them to drink every 2 minutes for the entire hike.  Hopefully that wasn't as annoying as it seems like it might have been!  Anyway, we all survived and then went to the air-conditioned visitor center where we thought we might learn what we had just seen.  But as it turns out, no one knows what the petroglyphs mean, except possibly the ancestors of the Pueblo people who made them, and they aren't allowed to tell.  In the log book, Dad M wrote in the "comments" section using his own petroglyphs. 

 Monday was the day of our epic journey to Acoma Sky Pueblo, which was so awesome that I put it into a whole separate blog post.

On Tuesday, I went to school and the folks went to the Bio Park.  We met at El Patron for a delicious New Mexican feast and were entertained by a guitar/vocal duet performing what I think were traditional Mexican songs.  Stephen also "entertained" us with his fake translations of the songs.  Apparently, one was about a missing sock.  We were skeptical.

 On Wednesday, we went to work again and the folks went to the Unser museum.  Dad M did some virtual racing on the simulator.  Mom M read all the signs and watched the videos.

 On Thursday, Stephen and his parents tried to go to breakfast at the Greenside Cafe, only to find it closed!  They were able to find an alternative, but alas, Stephen couldn't order his favorite, the Hen Grenade.
Mom and Dad M dropped Stephen off at the airport and continued on to Old Town for some shopping.  When I was done at the studio, we met at Cafe da Lat for yummy Vietnamese food.  Back at the house, Mom M and I played two spirited games of Bananagrams, then it was time for the folks to pack and rest up for the next day's travel.  I brought them to the airport on my way to school Friday morning.  We had such a nice time!  We did leave a few things to see and do during their next visit...

Acoma Sky City

Acoma Sky City is about 60 miles west of Albuquerque on I-40.  Visitors can only enter the pueblo, which is on a mesa 365 feet above the desert, on guided tours.  We planned to take the 10:30 tour and then have lunch at the Cultural Center.  We arrived in time to purchase our tickets and camera permits and get on the shuttle bus.  There were many signs reminding us that it would be hot and dry and that it would be a 90 minute walking tour over rough terrain.  We wore hats and comfortable shoes and brought water bottles.  I left the photography to Stephen so I wouldn't have to carry a camera as well.  Originally, the only way to get to the pueblo was by climbing up steep, uneven stairs cut into the rock wall of the mesa.  But in the 1950's a Hollywood movie crew filming a John Wayne movie, with the permission of the tribal elders, built a road to bring their people and equipment to the mesa.

A distant view of the mesa.

Our guide.

 Our guide told us that there is no electricity, running water, or sewer in the pueblo.  Only about 30 people live there full-time, but many families spend some time there, either on weekends or during the tribe's celebrations.  There are some generators and a few propane tanks.  There are lots of outhouses, but they are trying to get everyone to use the new solar composting outhouses and to get rid of their old outhouses.  During the day, potters and artisans come up to sell their crafts to tourists.

 

 Our guide was very interesting and kept the tour moving along.  She had lots of historical information, but also threw in some personal stories, explained how the pueblo is governed, and told some cute jokes.  There are only men on the council, but the women own the land and property, and the youngest daughter inherits.  In this way, our guide said, the women allow the men to think that they are in charge.

New and old outhouses.

 As you might imagine, the history of the pueblo includes some very sad and horrible stories.  At one point, most of the original buildings were destroyed, which is why many of the existing ones are made of adobe rather than stone. 

Window made of mica.

 The arrows at the top of the ladder to the kiva have symbolic meaning.  The small opening at the bottom of the wall was made so that a lookout could let the men in the kiva know if the priest or soldiers were coming in the days when practicing the native religion was outlawed by the Spanish.

 The interior of the church and the cemetery next to the church are off-limits for photography.  The wall surrounding the cemetery has an interesting feature of head-sized clay mounds every few feet.  They were fashioned so that enemies looking up from the desert would think there were many sentries on duty guarding the pueblo walls.

 At the end of the tour our guide gave everyone the option of taking the shuttle bus down to the cultural center or hiking down via the stone steps.  Of course, I voted for the steps!  Stephen went with me, along with three other people from the 40 or so on the tour.  The guide warned us that there were places we'd have to turn backward and use the handholds cut into the rock. 

 During the climb, I kept hearing the voices of children playing.  I could not figure out where the voices were coming from.  When we got to the bottom of the steps, it seemed like the sound might be coming from this huge rock formation.

Stephen kept the camera pointed toward the rocks and pretty soon my hunch was confirmed.

 

The rocks below are called "the camel."  It was a short walk by road to the cultural center once we got down the stairs.  Mom and Dad M were waiting and we went to lunch at the cafe where I had an absolutely delicious acorn squash stuffed with rice, pinions, and green chile.   We had a wonderful day and would recommend the tour to anyone visiting the Albuquerque area.